HONG KONG - Hong Kong has received more than 53,000 applications under the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP) over the past two years, with nearly 90 percent of the applications approved, Chris Sun, secretary for labor and welfare of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, said on Wednesday.

In a written reply to a lawmaker in the HKSAR Legislative Council, Sun said the numbers of applications approved and refused under the ASMTP over the last two years were about 47,000 and 600, respectively.

Meanwhile, more than 67,000 applications were received under the General Employment Policy (GEP), and the numbers of applications approved and refused during the same period were nearly 63,000 and 1,000, respectively, Sun said.

Under the ASMTP, about 46 percent of the approved applications were in respect of short-term positions, while long-term positions accounted for about 54 percent of the approved applications, Sun said.

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Among the approved applications under the GEP, around 70 percent were in respect of short-term positions with contract duration of less than 12 months, while the remaining applications, around 30 percent, were long-term positions with contract duration of 12 months or more, he added.

In the past two years, among those approved to take up long-term positions in Hong Kong under the GEP, most were engaged in the tourism industry, followed by academic research and education, and financial services, he said, adding that as for those approved under the ASMTP to take up long-term positions in Hong Kong, most were engaged in commerce and trade, followed by financial services, and academic research and education.

Among the approved incoming talents, most have monthly remuneration falling within the range of 20,000 to 39,999 Hong Kong dollars ($2577.5 to $5154.8), followed by those in the range of 40,000 to 79,999 Hong Kong dollars ($5155.0-$10309.8), Sun said.

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The HKSAR government's GEP and ASMTP schemes are designed to attract Chinese citizens residing overseas, and talents from the Chinese mainland, respectively, aiming to meet the development needs of the HKSAR.

The two employment-tied schemes of GEP and ASMTP have been the mainstay of the HKSAR's talent admission regime to facilitate employers to fill vacancies speedily to preserve the competitiveness of local enterprises, according to the official website of Talent List Hong Kong.